How to Avoid Over-Scheduling Kids
Expose Your Children to a Variety of Activities Without Overdoing It
Sports, scouts, clubs, the arts and organized play can enrich a child's life, as long as it doesn't overwhelm him.
On Mondays, the kids have dance, choir and baseball and the baby has movement class. On Tuesdays, it’s piano, soccer, Kindermusic and Tiger Scouts. On Wednesdays, you’re at church youth group, back to baseball, French lessons and drama. And by the end of the week, both you and your kids need a nap and a time out.
Exposing your children to a variety of activities is a wonderful gift from you, and it’s one of the perks of being a stay-at-home parent.
But as the choices increase, so does the temptation to give them a taste of everything under the sun. It seems there’s something for every type of child – from ceramics, cooking and computer classes to sports, music, art and foreign language, and what seems like everything in between.
Being too busy and over-scheduled isn’t good for most kids. And managing all those busy schedules will only increase your stress.
When choosing activities for your children, use these guidelines:
- Variety is the spice of life. Young children seldom need to specialize in their interests. No matter how much your son loves soccer, playing it year-round and on more than one team at a time is overkill. If you truly want to expose your children to a variety of activities, choose a sport, something in the arts (music, dance, drama), and something that stresses socialization and personal relationships (clubs, scouts). Being able to jump from one focus to another is something kids are easily able to do and the variety is good for them.
- Attention young jocks: One sport at a time. There are some children who seem to thrive on sports and won’t stop joining teams until you hide their water bottles. Playing more than one sport in a season forces children and parents to race from one practice or game to another, or one of their commitments is going to get short shrift. Tell your child that in order to be a good team member, he can’t divide his time between two sports.
- Rec vs club activities. Community-based, recreational activities are often more low-key, less intense, less costly and require less time commitment than private clubs. Travel and club sports teams, and independent organizations that are operated as businesses are often more competitive and require more commitment from your child.
Before you sign your child up with a gymnastics club, dance studio, or club sports team, carefully research what is expected of you, both financially and in time commitment. Out-of-town tournaments and competitions, uniforms, fundraising and other ventures are often expensive and affect the entire family. Be sure your family can handle the commitment in addition to the other things your children are involved in.
- Reserve some time for free play. Don’t forget that your children are children. They still need time to hang out, play with their friends, goof off and even get bored once in a while. Before you sign them up for a new activity, look at their schedules. If they’re running from one thing to another, eating dinner on the fly, and there are no empty spots on their schedule, start to pull back and let them have some time that isn’t committed to an organized activity.
